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a smooth orange sweet potato casserole topped with lightly toasted pumpkin seeds and oats in a plain baking dish, without marshmallows or a sugar glaze
Rachel Kim

Lower-Sugar Sweet Potato Casserole

Roasted sweet potatoes already bring plenty of sweetness, so this version skips the brown sugar and marshmallows and uses unsweetened applesauce to keep the filling soft. Greek yogurt gives it a little tang, while oats and pumpkin seeds make a modest crunchy topping without a sugar crust. It still tastes like a sweet potato side, not a bowl of plain mashed vegetables pretending to be one. The lower-sugar description is a comparison with the sweetened casseroles here, not a claim that the dish contains no sugar or fits every dietary need. Read the applesauce and yogurt labels so added sweeteners don't slip back in.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings: 8
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lbs whole sweet potatoes scrubbed
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter melted, for filling
  • 3/4 tsp fine salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup unsalted shelled pumpkin seeds
  • 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter melted, for topping
  • 1 tsp unsalted butter for the dish

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Pierce the sweet potatoes, place on a lined sheet and roast for 50 to 60 minutes until very soft. Scoop out the flesh and reduce the oven to 350°F.
  2. Mash the potatoes with applesauce, yogurt, filling butter, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Let cool until warm rather than hot, then mix in the egg.
  3. Grease a 2-quart baking dish and spread the filling evenly inside. Toss pumpkin seeds and oats with the topping butter.
  4. Scatter the seed mixture over the filling and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the oats are lightly toasted and the center reaches 160°F.
  5. Rest for 10 minutes before serving so the filling settles under the crisp topping.